I guess that title is a little misleading. Only in as much as I am not currently walking; nor have I ever walked. I don’t mean with regularity. I mean ever. What I was getting at in the title to this post was that it really takes some determination to keep up with Emmett, and to keep my toys from Emmett. He is moving. A lot. And fairly quickly too. So I have to move fast to keep up.

I am still working on crawling. I am army crawling like a champ. (Or as Mom likes to call it Roomba-ing because I inadvertently vacuum the floor when I pull myself across it.) And I am now getting much better at pulling my knees underneath me and rocking forward and back. But still no crawling. Which only means that I have to work that much harder to keep up with Chocolate Thunder (see Emmett’s blog if that’s the first time you’ve heard that name).

I will literally be following him from one room into another, when he decides-with Emmett’s customary je ne sais quois-to change direction and turn around. This is a bit disheartening for me. I work very hard to pull myself from one room into another only to see Emmett decide that it is, in fact, another room that is his final destination. Sometimes it just gets to be too much and I just lie there with my head on the ground. But only for a moment. Then I remember that I am White Lightening and I can do anything! (Except walk-yet.) So then I just turn around and follow Emmett to infinity and beyond…

But sometimes infinity means that he’s working hard to tire me out so that he can steal my toys. I have drawn a line in the sand when it comes to outright theft. If I have something in my hands, that is to say either being held by me or on my person, I expect that it will remain there. Perhaps I will entertain the idea of a trade. Give me something good and I may be persuaded to give up my toy in return. But for Emmett to just come up and try to yank my toy away? I will not stand for that.

To that end, I recently worked on my grip strength. And with the concept of retaliation. Both have helped me immensely. The grip strength has even surprised Emmett. When I crawl up to him when he is having a bottle and I try to wrest it from him, he is, I feel comfortable saying, shocked. Unfortunately he has taken to defending himself by hitting me on the head with whatever else he is holding. (I am currently searching for a solution to that problem. Stay tuned.) But I retaliate when he is otherwise engaged, then I crawl up to him and try to pull his hair. All’s fair… Right?

I would like to end this post by pointing out that I really learned all of these tactics from Emmett. I hesitate to say that, if asked, he would say that he was secretly proud of me. But I think that if he knew that I thought that, he would probably just hit me on the head with whatever he was currently holding.

Riley out.

Although this must be old-hat for Emmett, I am kind of nervous about the fact that I am going to be a big brother. It seems like a lot of responsibility. You have to teach the little one about a lot of stuff… What to taste, what not to taste. How to properly fling food with more than just a spoon. What sort of smile works to get you out of certain situations. There’s a lot to know if you are going to be a successful baby. And it falls to me to teach a little sister (Mom and Dad are pretty sure but aren’t going to find out until she gets here) all about these things.

But I think that if she’s half as fun as Emmett is to play with, it will be great. Emmett thinks that this means we’ll have someone else to blame for everything that we do wrong. Now, I don’t know so much about that, but I do like the idea of having someone else involved in any high jinx. The more the merrier!

She’s coming in January. So get ready!

Riley

Ok. So, I’m still not crawling yet. But I am a champ at army crawling my way across any floor. i am still growing too, which means that I am almost as big as Emmett now. He just weighed in at 24 pounds at his 18 month doctor’s visit and Mom thinks that I am probably close to 20 pounds.

I am starting to mimic everything that Emmett does. If he makes a funny sound, I make the same funny sound; if he shakes his head, I shake my head. He thinks its hilarious. And I have a great time playing with him. So it’s a win-win for everyone.

I am more mobile that you’d think, though, given that I am not yet crawling. I roll everywhere. I can open and close doors (as long as they aren’t closed all the way). And I am a big fan of wedging myself into really small places. I always end up under the stoller when I play in our entryway. (Dad jokes that I am changing the oil on it.)

I am also trying to get the doggies to play with me. I think Tally prefers that I roll, as opposed to walking or crawling, so she’s not as surprised by my approach. This means that she stays still (sometimes) for me to pet her. She’s super soft.

Dad has taken to putting me into a baby-backpack and walking around with Emmett and I. Emmett is on the ground, of course. But I like this because I’m up high and there’s a sun shade on the backpack so I can keep from getting burned. Dad says pretty soon we’re going to head up to the mountains and really go hiking. That should be great because it is way too hot at home. I cry when we go in the stroller because I am missing my air conditioning…

Anyway, I’ll check back in in another few weeks.

Take care,
R

Turns out I have two new teeth. Know how I figured this out? I bit my finger. Hard. It wasn’t pleasant. In fact, it hurt. But you know what they say… You only have to do it once to learn. So no more biting myself. But maybe I’ll take a leaf out of Emmett’s book and start biting Mom and Dad. Mostly Dad.

I woud like to say that I am now a champ when it comes to solid foods. I’ve had peas, spinach, sweet potatoes, rice, apples, bananas, and oatmeal. And more fruit to come.  But I still prefer the  bottle. Mom and Dad are working on that. Emmett likes to eat what I’m eating, and you would think that would make me want it to, but no dice. Still a work in progress.

I have been way more interested in playing with Emmet’s toys. Sometimes when he’s playing with something and I can’t get to it, I start crying.  I really have to get crawling down so that I can start stealing Emmett’s things.  He steals my things. So it really isn’t as mean as it sounds. Its just evening up the playing field.

Other than that, really no much new here. Just eating, sleeping, and growing. All good thing. Hoping to be mobile when we next chat.

Later.

We went in for my 6 month check up last week and I have got to tell you–I am the winner! I gained another ton of weight, so right now I am tipping the scales at just over 17 pounds. (Those of you scoring at home will note that Emmett weighs in at a bit shy of 23 pounds .) I grew a ton more, again, and I now am wearing 12-month-old clothes. The doc asked all these questions about me and after Mom and Dad answered the doctor pronounced me PERFECT. (Like we needed to be told, right?) So I win!

What do I win, you ask? Well, as I already hit the jackpot (you’ve met my big brother, Emmett, I’m guessing), this is just a small token signifying that I eat, sleep, and play at the highest levels. I am a teensy, weensy bit away from crawling. (I roll everywhere and hold myself up on my tummy and kick.) I have taken to solid foods like a champ, if you don’t count that first week where I gagged when the spoon came anywhere near my mouth. I can say Da-da, still no Ma-ma but I’m working on it.

I have this bouncy chair that I love to sit in and bounce like a crazy man. Like I am in a four wheeler and we are climbing some gnarly terrain in Moab. Like I am riding a shock-less bicycle over a washed out, rutted, gravel road. Seriously crazy. At first, Mom was worried that I was going to give myself whiplash. You know, big head and everything. Turns out, all that bouncing really strengthened my neck and core muscles. So, I’ve got that going for me, which is nice.

Except for a cold that the entire family caught and the runny nose that came with it (can you say faucet?), things here have been great. Mom’s been working hard to get Emmett and I on the same sleeping and napping schedule. Ask her how that’s working out for her. Really well, I hope. I never can tell, as I am usually up with her all by myself, and I’m not sure where Emmett is when we’re playing. Any-whoo.

Next week we start working in the garden and trying to contain the wilderness that is our backyard. Maybe we’ll even have some pictures of me helping. Check back in and see.

Later,

Riley

So, I have slowing been working on my neck strength. And I know that I’ve reported in past posts that I was holding my head up, which I totally was. But now I can do it while I’m sitting in a little chair.

At first, I was the Riley-Bobble-Doll. Micro-movements were challenging to do very smoothly. But I got the hang of it really quickly and I can now sit in the chair for almost an hour without my head getting too heavy for me. True, when I am tired, I do put my head down on the little tray in front of me and just hang out there. But normally, I am good with my heavy head.

I also saw the foot doc and she said that everything looked great. My feet are 100% fine, and she was even surprised by how much I had grown since I last saw her. When Mom told her that I am rolling around on the floor-from front to back and back again-she pronounced that I was doing everything I was supposed to do.

That means that things are great. Emmett is starting to play with me a bit when I sit in my chair. And we both smile and laugh. Hopefully, just a taste of what’s to come!

Talk to you all soon,
R

We were at the pediatrician last week and the doc comes in, watches Emmett running around, bouncing off of the furniture, and asks, “So, how’s he doing with Riley.” Mom and Dad tell him how Emmett is generally a good big brother but sometimes, very mischievously, looks at Mom or Dad, smiles, and then smacks me. Doc looks at the charts he has in his hands-Emmett’s chart and my chart-looks at Emmett, looks at me, and says, “Well, Emmett. I think you ought to be nice to your little brother. It looks like he’s going to be bigger than you.”

A little ball of happiness exploded in my tummy. Bigger than Emmett? Well, that’s huge! That’s like someone telling you that you just won the lottery. Or maybe an inexhaustible supply of formula. Or something. Anyway, turns out, I’m going to be big one day. Who knew?

Doc was very excited himself about my growth this past two months. I believe his own words were, “I rarely see growth like this and I can tell you that Riley will never duplicate it again in his lifetime.” Know why he said this? Guess. I bet you can’t guess.

I grew 4 inches! Four! In two months! I also put on 5 pounds! I went from the 10th percentile for my height to the 70th percentile. (Doc said he had to recheck the stats from my last visit to make sure of this because he so very rarely sees a 60 percentile jump in one visit.)

Although my head size also jumped on the chart (from 70th to 95th), doc says that I am holding it up very well and that my development is normal. He said that the 5 pounds I put on was almost all muscle mass. (Can anyone say Beefcake?) I can start planning for football, now. Before, it was kind of up in the air. With my huge head and small body and all. But now, it looks like a go.

I’m going to be big!

Check back soon…

Sincerely,
The Huge Riley

Guess what? I got  the OK to only wear my circa 19th shoes at night. So, since I am free all day long to go without shoes I have been working super hard on moving my legs around. I am already a rock start when it comes to flapping my arms, and now that I have the added component of my moving legs it looks like I am trying to swim. I;m not sure which stroke that would be. Doggy paddle, I guess.

I am also turning over onto my belly. I’ve done it a couple of times now and the first few times I was smart enough to keep one of my arms underneath me so that it made it easier to flip back over onto my back. But the last time I forgot and I ended up taking a one-way trip to belly-land. Good thing Mom and Dad were there to make the save because I’m not sure how I would have rolled back over without them.

I started talking a ton, too. Because I’ve been so content to hang out quietly up until now, when I started talking Mom thought that I wanted something. Like new pants, or a bottle, or something. But she soon figured out I was just yelling at the stuffed animals hanging from my play-gym. And I also enjoy talking to that guy I see in the mirror. I’m not sure who he is but, I tell you what, he’s one happy man.

I go to the doctor for a checkup on Tuesday, and we’ll see for sure, but I’m pretty certain that I am going to be taller than Emmett. This is only fair because he’s stronger than I am and I am going to need some sort of equalizer when I get a bit bigger and start crawling and stuff.

I’ll let you know how the visit to the doctor goes, but so far I think that I am making some great progress growing up. I can hold up my big head, I am flipping over to my tummy, I grab things and bring them to my mouth to suck on them (learned that one from Emmett). I need to put a bit of chunk into my legs and arms but other than that, Mom and Dad think I’m right on target.

Let you know next week,

Riley

I really have nothing new to report, except that I am a really happy guy. You put my super tight, extra special shoes on–and I’m happy about it. You tell me about how horrible your day way–and I’m happy about it.

The only thing that makes me unhappy is gas, and, let’s face it, that makes everyone unhappy. Oh, and being hungry is no fun either. But other than gas and hunger, I am a smiley guy.

We’ll see if that keeps up when I get a bit older and start interacting on a regular basis with Emmett. I think that it will only get better, but that’s just my take. Everyone else seems to think that Emmett will tenderize me, but I don’t believe it. I think he’s going to be my best friend.

Check back in a year-or-so and you’ll find out. Until then, I’ll post monthly and keep you updated on the saga.

Riley out.

Guess what? I am totally holding my head up! OK. Confession time: only kinda am I holding my head up. But given how large it is, I think that that any holding up being done is a very good start. I can keep it up when I’m on my tummy. But holding it up when I am on my back is a bit harder. I attribute this to the fact that the back on my head is bigger than the front of my head and when I’m laying down, it pushes my chin toward my throat. Meaning… That I am still working on that part of holding my head up.

But I am grabbing for things. I am bringing my hands to my mouth and sucking on them. I am totally engaged and looking around. I am laughing, all the time. I am a very happy baby, if I do say so myself.

I got my casts off of my legs, much earlier than the doctor said I would, and now I have special shoes to help keep my feet in place. Except for the first day, I have done extremely well given that Mom likens it to having on a pair of ski boots all day long. She doesn’t think that they would be that comfortable. And, truthfully, they aren’t. But I’m a trooper. I know they are going to help my feet, so I tough it out.

I am still eating like a champ and putting on weight. Although Mom and Dad seem to think that a lot of that weight is going straight into my big head. I think that pretty soon (once I can take these shoes off and hold my head up) they will see that the weight is going to bulking up my little body too.

I’ll get Mom to post some new pictures of Emmett and I really soon!

Thanks for checking in,
Riley